Chapter Sixteen: Makeups and Mishaps
Disclaimer: This all belongs to J.K. Rowling.
"Three butterbeers, Madam Rosmerta," said Ted. "I'll pay."
Kirley and Talia, seated across the table from him at the Three Broomsticks, didn't complain. Ted faced them, clearing his throat nervously.
"I'm sorry I don't have anything to say to explain what I did or said...except to say, I'm sorry. Please forgive me."
He waited, full of doubt, while they thought about it. Why was he trying to make up with them at all? He'd done so much damage it was impossible by now.
Finally Kirley said, "Of course I forgive you, mate."
Talia, however, crossed her arms. "I'm not sure whether or not you deserve to be my practice target for the Bat-Bogey Hex. In fairness, these last few months must have been punishment enough for you."
"Thanks," Ted said in relief.
"Don't thank me," she said with a wry smile. "Alice was the one who convinced me. She said you really weren't a jerk...on the inside."
"Was I just complimented or insulted?" asked Ted.
"Complimented," answered Kirley. "You know Talia likes you when she insults you."
"Is that how you two started going out?" Ted joked.
To his great surprise, Talia burst out laughing and Kirley threatened to hex him under his breath. Ted relaxed—they didn't seem mad anymore.
"Why didn't you tell me Ted was so funny?" Talia asked her boyfriend.
"Why didn't you tell me that Talia wasn't a temptress who put you under a spell?" Ted added.
"She does have me under a spell!" Kirley took Talia's hand. Normally behavior like that would have annoyed Ted, but he was so glad they forgave him that he didn't care.
Talia pulled her hand out of Kirley's. "Then it's time we all woke up. Kirley, Ted needs you to be his friend right now. And I had a blast staying up all night yesterday talking to Alice. And, in some strange way, I want to see more of Ted as well."
"Let me see what you're saying," said Kirley. "You want to see less of me so you can spend more time alone with my best friend?"
"Precisely." She kissed him on the forehead. "You're not worried Ted will sweep me off my feet, are you?"
"Nah, he's got—somebody else."
"I'm glad," she said. "Ted needs a girlfriend."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ted protested, but the pair of them only smiled.
Andromeda finished writing her letter to Marlene and headed off to the Owlery. It was unbelievable to think that only three years ago, she only had one friend—Derrick. Now, she had Ted and Kirley and Marlene (who she was going to be penpals with) and maybe some more, when Ted introduced her to Alice Macmillan like he said he would.
She gave her letter to a school owl and watched him fly off. It was such a peaceful day, after the exciting and traumatic ball last week. She meandered back to the common room, wondering which piece of homework to start first, when she met the person she most often tried to avoid.
"Good morning, Andromeda," said Bellatrix.
Andromeda was suspicious of this seemingly polite gesture. She said with some hesitation, "Good morning, Bella."
She tried to keep walking, but her sister cut in front of her.
"I would advise you not to go that way."
"Why not?" snapped back Andromeda. She didn't have time to play these games.
"Because you'll pass by the Great Hall, of course. And there you'll find your precious cousin with his Gryffindor friends—doing some redecorating."
"Sirius? What do you mean, doing some redecorating?"
"Find out for yourself." She shrugged, as if it didn't matter one way or the other. "And remember, he's your cousin."
Andromeda shivered; this couldn't be good. She took off down the hall and flung the doors of the Great Hall open wide, panting for breath. Inside she found Narcissa, looking quite disgusted, watching Sirius and three other boys busy trying to enchant a tapestry.
"What are you doing?" she snapped.
The boys turned round abruptly, hiding the tapestry behind their backs and trying to make their guilty faces look as innocent as possible.
"Cissa, what's going on here?" she asked her younger sister.
Cissa rolled her eyes. "Bella sent me here to keep an eye on them. They were clearly up to something. And now look what they've done!"
Andromeda went behind them to take a closer look at the tapestries. One read, "Go Gryffindor!" in red and gold. The other, in silver and green: "Slytherin Stinks."
"Sirius, how juvenile," she sighed.
The boys immediately leapt to his defense.
"It was my idea!"
"It's not juvenile!"
"It's only our first try!"
"Quiet, all of you," she ordered. "Who are you anyway?"
The boy with messy hair and glasses stepped forward. "I'm James Potter. And I don't see how you can come in here and tell Sirius what to do, unless you're a Prefect."
"I am, as a matter of fact. But more importantly, I'm Andromeda Black. His cousin. In Slytherin."
Even the Potter kid looked impressed at that. Sirius tried a halfway grin and said, "Meda, meet my roommates. Y'know, the ones I told you about."
"The troublemakers?"
They all brightened at being called that. The boy with light brown hair smiled shyly and said, "I'm Remus Lupin, it's nice to meet you."
Andromeda liked him immediately, him and the other shyer boy called Peter Pettigrew.
"I'm glad to meet you, too...even under these circumstances." She threw Sirius a dirty look.
"Hey," he protested, "I'm only doing what you told me too!"
"That's no surprise," said Narcissa scathingly. "What a wonderful role model you are, Andromeda."
"Aw, shut it," said Sirius and James together, causing all four boys to crack up.
"Look, that's not what I meant. I meant that instead of messing around, you should be working together—"
"We are working together! We're using our...talents...to..."
"Liven this place up!" finished James.
"What do you think about this, Remus?" she asked.
He looked shocked that she'd asked for his opinion, but said, "We're just having fun. Nothing wrong with that, is there?"
Peter nodded enthusiastically, and James yelled, "Well said!"
"Well, I'm afraid you're going to have to use your talents with other pursuits," she told the group.
Sirius looked crestfallen, until she whispered conspiratorially, "Make sure certain Slytherin prefects aren't around while you do it, though."
They laughed and agreed to put the tapestries back to normal. Narcissa even helped.
"You handled it well, I suppose," she said. "I was about to hex them."
"Really," thought Andromeda. "They weren't that bad."
But as they left the Great Hall, laughing about some Slytherin first year, she almost changed her mind. Maybe they were. Whatever they were, they were good for Sirius. Better he hate Slytherin completely than be tied to it. It was less complicated that way. She knew that better than anyone.
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews last week (Merci beaucoup!)
"Three butterbeers, Madam Rosmerta," said Ted. "I'll pay."
Kirley and Talia, seated across the table from him at the Three Broomsticks, didn't complain. Ted faced them, clearing his throat nervously.
"I'm sorry I don't have anything to say to explain what I did or said...except to say, I'm sorry. Please forgive me."
He waited, full of doubt, while they thought about it. Why was he trying to make up with them at all? He'd done so much damage it was impossible by now.
Finally Kirley said, "Of course I forgive you, mate."
Talia, however, crossed her arms. "I'm not sure whether or not you deserve to be my practice target for the Bat-Bogey Hex. In fairness, these last few months must have been punishment enough for you."
"Thanks," Ted said in relief.
"Don't thank me," she said with a wry smile. "Alice was the one who convinced me. She said you really weren't a jerk...on the inside."
"Was I just complimented or insulted?" asked Ted.
"Complimented," answered Kirley. "You know Talia likes you when she insults you."
"Is that how you two started going out?" Ted joked.
To his great surprise, Talia burst out laughing and Kirley threatened to hex him under his breath. Ted relaxed—they didn't seem mad anymore.
"Why didn't you tell me Ted was so funny?" Talia asked her boyfriend.
"Why didn't you tell me that Talia wasn't a temptress who put you under a spell?" Ted added.
"She does have me under a spell!" Kirley took Talia's hand. Normally behavior like that would have annoyed Ted, but he was so glad they forgave him that he didn't care.
Talia pulled her hand out of Kirley's. "Then it's time we all woke up. Kirley, Ted needs you to be his friend right now. And I had a blast staying up all night yesterday talking to Alice. And, in some strange way, I want to see more of Ted as well."
"Let me see what you're saying," said Kirley. "You want to see less of me so you can spend more time alone with my best friend?"
"Precisely." She kissed him on the forehead. "You're not worried Ted will sweep me off my feet, are you?"
"Nah, he's got—somebody else."
"I'm glad," she said. "Ted needs a girlfriend."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ted protested, but the pair of them only smiled.
Andromeda finished writing her letter to Marlene and headed off to the Owlery. It was unbelievable to think that only three years ago, she only had one friend—Derrick. Now, she had Ted and Kirley and Marlene (who she was going to be penpals with) and maybe some more, when Ted introduced her to Alice Macmillan like he said he would.
She gave her letter to a school owl and watched him fly off. It was such a peaceful day, after the exciting and traumatic ball last week. She meandered back to the common room, wondering which piece of homework to start first, when she met the person she most often tried to avoid.
"Good morning, Andromeda," said Bellatrix.
Andromeda was suspicious of this seemingly polite gesture. She said with some hesitation, "Good morning, Bella."
She tried to keep walking, but her sister cut in front of her.
"I would advise you not to go that way."
"Why not?" snapped back Andromeda. She didn't have time to play these games.
"Because you'll pass by the Great Hall, of course. And there you'll find your precious cousin with his Gryffindor friends—doing some redecorating."
"Sirius? What do you mean, doing some redecorating?"
"Find out for yourself." She shrugged, as if it didn't matter one way or the other. "And remember, he's your cousin."
Andromeda shivered; this couldn't be good. She took off down the hall and flung the doors of the Great Hall open wide, panting for breath. Inside she found Narcissa, looking quite disgusted, watching Sirius and three other boys busy trying to enchant a tapestry.
"What are you doing?" she snapped.
The boys turned round abruptly, hiding the tapestry behind their backs and trying to make their guilty faces look as innocent as possible.
"Cissa, what's going on here?" she asked her younger sister.
Cissa rolled her eyes. "Bella sent me here to keep an eye on them. They were clearly up to something. And now look what they've done!"
Andromeda went behind them to take a closer look at the tapestries. One read, "Go Gryffindor!" in red and gold. The other, in silver and green: "Slytherin Stinks."
"Sirius, how juvenile," she sighed.
The boys immediately leapt to his defense.
"It was my idea!"
"It's not juvenile!"
"It's only our first try!"
"Quiet, all of you," she ordered. "Who are you anyway?"
The boy with messy hair and glasses stepped forward. "I'm James Potter. And I don't see how you can come in here and tell Sirius what to do, unless you're a Prefect."
"I am, as a matter of fact. But more importantly, I'm Andromeda Black. His cousin. In Slytherin."
Even the Potter kid looked impressed at that. Sirius tried a halfway grin and said, "Meda, meet my roommates. Y'know, the ones I told you about."
"The troublemakers?"
They all brightened at being called that. The boy with light brown hair smiled shyly and said, "I'm Remus Lupin, it's nice to meet you."
Andromeda liked him immediately, him and the other shyer boy called Peter Pettigrew.
"I'm glad to meet you, too...even under these circumstances." She threw Sirius a dirty look.
"Hey," he protested, "I'm only doing what you told me too!"
"That's no surprise," said Narcissa scathingly. "What a wonderful role model you are, Andromeda."
"Aw, shut it," said Sirius and James together, causing all four boys to crack up.
"Look, that's not what I meant. I meant that instead of messing around, you should be working together—"
"We are working together! We're using our...talents...to..."
"Liven this place up!" finished James.
"What do you think about this, Remus?" she asked.
He looked shocked that she'd asked for his opinion, but said, "We're just having fun. Nothing wrong with that, is there?"
Peter nodded enthusiastically, and James yelled, "Well said!"
"Well, I'm afraid you're going to have to use your talents with other pursuits," she told the group.
Sirius looked crestfallen, until she whispered conspiratorially, "Make sure certain Slytherin prefects aren't around while you do it, though."
They laughed and agreed to put the tapestries back to normal. Narcissa even helped.
"You handled it well, I suppose," she said. "I was about to hex them."
"Really," thought Andromeda. "They weren't that bad."
But as they left the Great Hall, laughing about some Slytherin first year, she almost changed her mind. Maybe they were. Whatever they were, they were good for Sirius. Better he hate Slytherin completely than be tied to it. It was less complicated that way. She knew that better than anyone.
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews last week (Merci beaucoup!)